The exemplary embodiment relates to a system and method for influencing repairs to shared devices. It finds particular application in connection with a networked printing system in which several users have access to a common printer and will be described with particular reference thereto. It is to be appreciated, however, that other applications in which one or more devices are shared by several users are also contemplated.
Electromechanical devices, such as printers, commonly suffer minor faults, such as paper jams and running out of consumables, such as paper or toner. These minor problems can usually be corrected by the users of such devices, without the assistance of a local support person or service call. However, when a user is in urgent need for a print or copy job, such as for a meeting, or for completing a project, it may be inconvenient to have to perform the physical repair before the job can be completed. Users often redirect the urgent job to another printer, if one is available, and leave the repair to someone else. Some users are less adept at completing the physical repair than others and may leave the repair to another user, even when the job is not urgent. As a result, when the printer is ultimately repaired, either by another user or the support person, several print jobs may have accumulated and be printed unnecessarily. Additionally, several users may have wasted time sending a job to a non-functional printer. Others may feel penalized because they have to repair a printer that other people, with less urgent jobs, could have attended to. Furthermore, this context is not favorable to a good repair.